REPORT 


OF  THE 

GENERAL  ADMINISTRATIVE  COUNCIL  MEETING 

OF  THE 

American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation 

HELD  AT 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS, 


April  10,  1909 


b  T  fo  L  H 


American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation 


REPORT 

Of  the  General  Administrative  Council  Meeting  of  the 
American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation, 
held  at  Chicago,  April  10,  1909 


- 


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<~s) 


The  spring  meeting  of  the  General  Administrative  Council 
of  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation  was  held 
April  10th,  at  the  City  Club,  in  Chicago. 

The  work  of  the  day  was  begun  with  a  meeting  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  followed  by  a  luncheon  at  12  :30,  after 
which  three  members  of  the  council,  President  Farnain  of 
Yale  University,  Secretary  Commons  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin,  and  Commissioner  of  Labor  McEwen  of  Minne¬ 
sota,  addressed  the  regular  Saturday  meeting  of  the  City 
Club,  on  Workingmen’s  Insurance > 

The  semi-annual  meeting  of  t lie  Administrative  Council 
was  opened  at  2:30,  in  the  library  of  the  City  Club,  with 
President  Farnam  in  the  chair.  The  following  members  were 
present :  Miss  Jane  Addams,  of  Hull  House;  Henry  W.  Far- 
nam,  of  Yale  University;  Towner  K.  Webster,  of  the  Web¬ 
ster  Manufacturing  Company,  Chicago;  John  P.  Frey,  editor 
of  the  Iron  Holders 1  Journal ,  Cincinnati ;  Edgar  T.  Davies, 
Chief  Factory  Inspector,  of  Illinois;  Mrs.  Raymond  Robins, 
president  of  the  National  Women’s  Trade  Union  League; 
William  E.  McEwen,  Commissioner  of  Labor  of  Minnesota; 
Hugh  R.  Fuller,  National  Legislative  Representative  of  the 
Railway  Trainmen,  of  Pennsylvania;  Robert  Hunter,  of  New 
York  City;  Ernst  Freund,  Professor  of  Law  in  the  University 
of  Chicago;  Richard  T.  Ely,  chairman  of  the  Madison  Local 
Executive  Council ;  and  Secretary  John  R.  Commons,  Assist¬ 
ant  Secretary  Irene  Osgood,  and  Executive  Secretary  John 
B.  Andrews,  of  Madison,  Wisconsin. 

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In  addition  to  the  above,  the  following  members  and 
friends  of  the  Association  were  present:  Graham  Taylor,  of 
the  Chicago  Commons;  James  D.  Beck,  Commissioner  of 
Labor  of  Wisconsin;  Julius  Wiengerski,  of  Chicago;  John 
A.  Fitch,  of  the  Pittsburg  Survey;  George  N.  Carman,  of 
Chicago;  Don  Lescohier  and  Reuben  McKitrick  of  the  Uni¬ 
versity  of  Wisconsin;  and  John  L.  Coulter,  Secretary  of  the 
Minnesota  State  Branch. 

The  minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting,  the  report  of  the 
executive  secretary,  and  the  statement  of  cash  receipts  and 
disbursements  for  the  first  quarter  of  the  year  1909,  were 
read  by  the  Executive  Secretary. 

REPORT  OF  EXECUTIVE  SECRETARY 

T' -  •  I  ■  J  (April  1909) 

Since  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  at  Atlantic 
City,  two  State  Branches  have  been  organized.  Early  in 
January  the  Assistant  Secretary  co-operated  with  local  mem¬ 
bers  in  the  preliminary  work  of  forming  a  State  Branch  in 
Minnesota,  which  was  finally  organized  on  February  8th.  At 
the  same  time  the  Secretary  and  the  President  of  the  Asso¬ 
ciation  attended  preliminary  conferences  in  New  York, 
which  resulted  in  a  public  meeting  and  the  organization  of 
the  New  York  Branch  on  February  19th.  Recently,  inquiries 
have  been  received  from  members  in  Missouri,  Massachu¬ 
setts,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,  and  steps  have  been  taken 
by  the  Association  to  co-operate  in  the  organization  of  State 
Branches  in  those  four  states. 

Aside  from  the  special  organization  activity,  mentioned 
above,  the  work  of  the  Association  during  the  three  months 
has  been  conducted  almost  entirely  from  the  office  in  Madi¬ 
son  . 

The  Secretary,  however,  has  addressed  meetings  of  the 
Merchants’  and  Manufacturers’  Association  in  Milwaukee, 
and  the  Six  0 ’Clock  Club,  the  Saturday  Lunch  Club,  and  the 
University  students,  at  Minneapolis,  on  Workingmen’s  In¬ 
surance  and  Industrial  Hygiene.  For  the  consideration  of 
similar  subjects,  he  has  also  attended  frequent  conferences 
and  carried  on  a  considerable  correspondence  with  people 
from  various  parts  of  the  country. 

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Encouraging  progress  has  been  made  in  the  tabulation  and 
comparative  analysis  of  laws  on  the  subjects  of  Sunday  Rest, 
Health,  Comfort  and  Safety  of  Employees,  the  Labor  of 
Women,  Factory  Inspection,  and  Industrial  Accidents. 

The  time  of  the  Assistant  Secretary  has  been  fully  occu¬ 
pied  with  the  work  of  preparing  for  the  printer  the  manu¬ 
script  of  the  Second  Annual  Meeting,  the  quarterly  report 
to  the  International  Office,  the  department  on  Labor  Legis¬ 
lation  in  Charities  and  the  Commons,  special  articles  on  labor 
legislation,  and  with  the  rapidly  increasing  business  of  the 
office.  Twice  during  the  last  six  weeks  the  Assistant  Secre¬ 
tary  was  called  upon  to  address  meetings  in  Milwaukee,  where 
she  explained  the  plans  and  work  of  the  Association  to  the 
representatives  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Consumers’  League, 
and  the  members  of  the  Milwaukee  Social  Economics  Club. 
These  addresses  have  served  a  two-fold  purpose.  They  have 
made  known  to  a  wider  circle  the  organization’s  purposes 
and  plans,  and  they  have  increased  the  membership  in  Wis¬ 
consin. 

The  Executive  Secretary  commenced  work  on  February 
12th.  The  preparation  of  special  new  circulars',  and  leaflets, 
and  revised  editions  of  the  old  material  including  the  Con¬ 
stitution  and  the  Outline  of  Work,  and  the  task  of  re-organ¬ 
izing  the  office  system  in  order  to  facilitate  the  extension  of 
the  work  of  the  Association,  were  recognized  as  necessary 
first  steps.  As  a  preliminary  to  subsequent  field  work,  iden¬ 
tification  card  lists  of  members  and  correspondents,  and 
duplicate  catalogs  classified  by  States  and  cities,  with  special 
information  concerning  persons  and  places,  have  been  com¬ 
pleted. 

Thousands  of  pieces  of  literature  have  been  enclosed  in 
letters  and,  with  discrimination,  distributed  to  special  groups 
of  supposedly  interested  people. 

Requests  for  information  have  steadily  increased.  Among 
the  many  inquiries  which  have  been  received,  the  following 
are  merely  typical.  Requests  for  special  information  con¬ 
cerning  the  laws  of  all  States  and  the  most  progressive  for¬ 
eign  countries  on  the  Health,  Safety,  and  Comfort  of  Em¬ 
ployees,  by  the  Illinois  Industrial  Commission;  the  laws  of 
all  States  providing  for  the  care  of  dependent  children,  by 


the  Chicago  Women’s  Trade  Union  League;  bills  recently 
introduced  for  the  protection  of  women  workers,  by  the  Leg¬ 
islative  Committee  of  the  Neighborhood  Workers;  laws  reg¬ 
ulating  the  speed  of  machinery,  by  the  librarian  of  the  Kan¬ 
sas  State  Library;  bibliographical  information  concerning  a 
list  of  books,  submitted  by  the  Women’s  Trade  Union  League 
of  New  York  City;  sources  of  information  on  the  subject  of 
public  and  private  health,  by  the  World's  Work  magazine  ; 
Municipal  Control  of  the  Milk  Supply,  by  the  New  York  Milk 
Committee;  proper  procedure  of  prosecution  under  Child 


by  Miss  Breckenridge  of  the  University  of  Chicago;  status 
of  the  sweated  industries  legislation  in  the  British  parlia¬ 
ment,  by  t lie  secretary  of  the  National  Consumers’  League. 

Two  meetings  of  the  Local  Executive  Council  have  been 
held  for  the  consideration  of  several  matters  of  business  of  a 
more  or  less  routine  character. 

Special  attention  has  been  given  to  building  up  the  or¬ 
ganization  and  to  arousing  interest  in  the  subject  of  indus¬ 
trial  hygiene.  On  February  16th,  a  bill  was  introduced  in 
the  Wisconsin  Legislature  providing  for  an  investigation  of 
conditions  affecting  the  health,  vitality  and  industrial  effi¬ 
ciency  of  wage  earners.  Thousands  of  copies  of  this  bill, 
with  a  brief  history  of  the  Association’s  interest  in  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  industrial  hygiene,  were  circulated  in  the  state  of 
Wisconsin  and  throughout  the  United  States.  The  bill  came 
before  a  joint  committee  of  both  houses  on  March  25th  and 
was  reported  favorably  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

In  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  International  Office 
considerable  time  has  been  spent  in  outlining  plans  for  the 
investigation  of  special  conditions  resulting  in  occupational 
disease. 

Arrangements  have  been  made  for  the  publication  of  1,000 
copies  of  the  Second  Annual  Report,  and  an  additional  thou¬ 
sand  separate  copies  of  President  Farnam’s  address,  to  be 
circulated  more  widely  wherever  conditions  appear  most 
favorable  for  strengthening  the  organization. 

Word  has  come  from  the  English  office  that  present  plans 
provide  for  the  delivery  of  eight  numbers  of  the  Bulletin 
during  the  present  year.  The  first  number  for  the  year  is 

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being  mailed  to  the  members  this  week  from  the  Madison 
office.  The  number  of  copies  of  the  Bulletin  ordered  from 
the  London  office  has  been  doubled. 

The  membership  of  the  Association  is  increasing  steadily. 

John  B.  Andrews, 

Executive  Secretary. 

A  letter  from  the  secretary  of  the  National  Civic  Federa¬ 
tion,  with  reference  to  a  proposed  conference  on  Uniform 
Legislation,  was  read  by  President  Farnam.  The  executive 
committee  was  authorized  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  se¬ 
cure  proper  representation. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Ely,  the  appointment  of  a  delegation  to 
attend  the  meeting  of  the  Commission  on  Uniform  State 
Legislation  was  referred  to  the  Executive  Committee,  with 
power  to  act. 

The  arrangement  of  the  program  for  the  Annual  Meeting 
at  New  York,  December  1909,  was  also  left  to  the  Executive 
Com  mittee. 

On  motion  of  Mrs.  Robins,  seconded  by  Professor  Freund, 
the  Administrative  Council  voted  to  recommend  to  the  an¬ 
nual  meeting  that  Section  5,  of  Article  Y,  LOCAL  SEC¬ 
TIONS,  be  amended  so  as  to  read  : 

“The  officers  of  this  section  shall  be  a  president  and  a  sec¬ 
retary-treasurer,  who,  with  three  or  more  other  members, 
shall  constitute  the  Executive  Committee.” 

STATE  BRANCHES 

At  the  request  of  Miss  Addams  discussion  was  called  for 
on  the  subject  of  State  Branches.  Said  Secretary  Commons: 
“The  purpose  of  the  Association  is  to  bring  up  the  backward 
States.  .  .  .  Pennsylvania  is  a  drag  upon  the  progress 

of  social  legislation.  .  .  .  The  influence  of  Pennsylvania 

is  more  important  for  us  than  the  influence  of  the  Southern 
States.  .  We  should  build  up  the  membership  in 

Pennsylvania,  and  organize  a  State  Branch.  .  .  .  Then 

we  should  investigate  Pennsylvania’s  State  Factory  Inspec¬ 
tion  .  .  ,  get  the  facts  and  publish  them  .  .  .  lighten 

the  load  of  competing  States  (New  York,  New  Jersey,  etc.) 
.  .  .  As  a  practical  suggestion  I  say  :  Make  a  vigorous 

7 


campaign  in  Pennsylvania,  and  I  ask  the  question  :  Will 
concentration  on  Pennsylvania  be  a  discouragement  to  the 
branches  in  Illinois,  Minnesota,  and  other  progressive 
States?” 


Miss  Addams  wished  to  emphasize  important  national 
phases  of  the  subject  of  labor  legislation,  and  referred  to 
lack  of  uniformity  in  regulations  of  child  labor  in  theatres. 
She  felt  very  strongly  that  the  national  aspect  of  labor  legis¬ 
lation  needed  special  attention. 

Professor  Freund  said  :  "The  Illinois  Branch  is  giving  in¬ 
dividual  advice  and  keeping  an  eye  on  Springfield. 

Locals  should  work  out  locally  what  the  American  Associa¬ 
tion  is  trying  to  do  on  a  national  scale.” 

Mr.  Webster  said  :  "  Work  men’s  Compensation  is  a  subject 
on  which  it  is  easy  to  get  up  enthusiasm.  People  will  meet 
you  more  than  half  way.  Of  course  we  want  uniform  laws. 

.  Our  hope,  of  course,  is  agitation.  .  .  .  Lay  out 

a  policy.  .  .  .  Get  people  to  go  around  and  talk.  .  .  . 

Hammer  away — on  not  too  big  a  plan.” 

Dr.  Coulter,  Secretary  of  the  Minnesota  Branch,  explained 
that  they  had  a  very  definite  piece  of  work  on  hand  when 
their  State  Branch  was  organized.  They  had  given  much 
attention  to  Workmen’s  Compensation,  and  indirectly  had 
been  active  in  getting  people  interested.  He  felt  that  the 
questions  of  finance  and  publicity  were  the  most  important 
internal  problems  before  the  Minnesota  Branch.  He  be¬ 
lieved  in  organizing  the  most  advanced  states  first. 

Mrs.  Robins  thought  it  a  great  mistake  to  think  the  same 
people  were  in  all  progressive  groups.  uWe  can  get  more 
people  interested,  and  there  should  be  a  membership  of  1,000 
in  the  State  of  Illinois.” 


Mr.  Davies,  factory  inspector  for  the  State  of  Illinois,  said  : 
"The  locals  should  be  well  organized,  and  might  do  much  by 
inspecting  the  factory  inspectors.  1  welcome  it  here.” 

Mr.  McEwen  urged  the  Association  to  lay  out  a  program 
for  two  years  hence,  and  then  investigate  with  that  in  mind. 
In  Minnesota  a  minimum  air  space  bill  was  introduced,  but 
failed  because  no  one  backed  it  up  with  intelligence. 


President  Farnam  said:  "There  is  a  well-defined  division 
of  functions  between  the  National  and  the  State  Associa- 

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tions.  It  is  the  function  of  the  National  Association  to  sup¬ 
ply  ammunition — the  Bulletin ,  leaflets,  pamphlets,  etc.  The 
State  Branches  are  on  the  firing  line  and  should  push  legis¬ 
lation.  They  are  in  a  position  to  appear  before  legislative 
committees  and  say:  lWe  represent  this  State  and  have  a 
right  to  be  heard  !  ’  Local  Branches  should  be  financed  by  local 
contributions.  ” 

Mrs.  Bobins  recommended  that  the  consideration  of  the 
problem  of  local  finances  be  referred  to  the  executive  com¬ 
mittee,  and  it  was  so  voted. 

BUREAU  OF  INFORMATION 

Secretary  Commons  opened  the  discussion  on  this  subject, 
and  asked  for  opinions  on  what  is  needed.  He  mentioned 
many  requests  received  for  information  and  the  present  dif¬ 
ficulties  in  the  way  of  giving  full  replies,  on  account  of  in¬ 
adequate  office  force. 

President  Farnam  gave  as  his  opinion  that,  “  Willy  nilly, 
we  need  to  furnish  information.” 

Mrs.  Robins  mentioned  an  important  item  of  information 
regarding  the  feeding  of  school  children  in  the  United  States, 
recently  furnished  by  the  Association  through  her  to  a  for¬ 
eign  association,  after  the  failure  of  several  inquiries  made 
to  various  governmental  and  private  bodies.  This  experience 
proved  to  her  the  importance  of  supporting  the  Association 
in  establishing  its  Bureau  of  Information. 

John  Frey  said  :  uWe  want  good  tools  for  labor  legislation 
and  can’t  get  them.  ...  I  burn  midnight  oil  in  trying 
to  get  information  on  what  laws  have  been  passed. 

We  get  State  legislation  which  is  declared  unconstitutional 
and  then  we  introduce  bills  in  Congress  which  we  are  told 
would  infringe  on  State’s  rights.  ...  A  Bureau  of  In¬ 
formation  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  things  the  Association 
could  provide  for  us.” 

Mr.  McKitrick  described  the  methods  of  the  Wisconsin 
Legislative  Reference  Library,  and  thought  the  essential 
problem  was  to  secure  some  one  to  collect  and  catalog  ma¬ 
terial. 

Mr.  Webster  said  he  helped  organize  the  “People’s  Lobby,  ” 
and  knew  the  Standard  Oil  Company  could  always  get  infor- 

9 


mation.  He  added  :  “The  government  should  get  this  in¬ 
formation.  It  is  a  function  of  the  government.  In  the  mean¬ 
time  we  must  do  what  we  can.  We  must  organize  public 
sentiment  and  tell  the  government  that  it  is  a  public  func¬ 
tion.” 

Mr.  F  idler  believed  the  government  should  do  the  work 
and  supply  information  in  an  impartial  way.  “But,”  he 
said,  “government  statistics  often  do  not  go  far  enough. 
This  Association  should  figure  out  something  more  vital  with 
the  aid  of  government  statistics.  Encourage  the  Department 
of  Labor  at  Washington  to  provide  a  Bureau  of  Information. 
Bass  a  resolution,  and  urge  action.” 

Mr.  Fuller  introduced  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved — That  in  the  opinion  of  the  General  Administra¬ 
tive  Council  of  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legisla¬ 
tion  there  is  urgent  need  for  the  establishment  in  the  Bureau 
of  Labor  at  Washington  of  a  Division  of  Information  regard¬ 
ing  social  legislation  and  social  conditions  in  the  several 
States,  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries;  and  that 
the  information  so  collected  should  be  furnished  promptly  on 
request  in  such  form  as  will  be  of  the  greatest  immediate 
practical  value. 

Resolved, — That  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  sent  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  Senate  and  the  House  of 
Representatives. 

POLICY  FOR  THE  IMMEDIATE  FUTURE 

The  relative  importance  of  extending  the  organization, 
making  investigations,  and  promoting  legislation  was  next 
discussed. 

President  Farnam  opened  the  discussion.  “We  cannot  do 
anything  without  extending  the  organization,”  he  said. 
“Investigations  are  useful  but  costly.  This  Association 
probably  cannot  undertake  the  big  investigations  on  account 
of  the  expense.  We  can,  however,  stimulate  investigations. 
The  Federal  Government  subscribes,  and  we  can  make  a 
strong  appeal  to  the  Government.  The  Sage  Foundation 
may  be  encouraged,  and  we  may  secure  investigations  made 
under  its  auspices.  We  can  then  promote  legislation  through 
the  State  Branches. 


10 


INDUSTRIAL  HYGIENE 


Dr.  Ely  spoke  to  the  question:  The  relative  importance 
of  different  subjects,  such  as  industrial  hygiene,  accidents, 
workingmen’s  insurance  and  compensation,  labor  of  women 
and  children,  and  in  reply  to  the  question,  Which  is  most 
important?  said:  “Industrial  Hygiene,  without  question.  It 
furnishes  the  strategic  point,  along  lines  of  least  resistance. 
It  is  so  reasonable  that  it  appeals  to  everybody.  Even  school 
children  know  the  value  of  it.  Of  all  the  national  resources 
of  which  we  hear  so  much,  human  resources  are  the  most 
important.  Public  health  is  involved.  We  disarm  opposi¬ 
tion  when  we  propose  to  take  up  the  question  of  Industrial 
Hygiene.  Efficiency  of  workers  is  of  interest  to  employers. 

We  enlist  strong  classes,  especially  physicians,  in 
our  favor.  We  can  secure  the  co-operation  of  Boards  of 
Health  and  they  can  carry  out  policies  and  secure  new  legis¬ 
lation.  We  can  get  facts  of  great  importance  on  ventilation, 
and  the  effect  of  air  on  health.  Pacts  of  great  significance 
are  already  available.  Boards  of  Health  have  great  power, 
and  they  are  little  interfered  with  by  the  courts.  There  is 
least  likelihood  of  opposition  from  the  courts  here.  In  this 
way  we  can  persuade  the  courts  to  uphold  labor  laws.  If 
the  New  York  Bakers’  Case  had  been  presented  from  the 
standpoint  of  industrial  hygiene  it  would  not  have  been  lost. 
It  would  have  appeared  reasonable.  We  should  try  to  induce 
other  agencies  to  take  up  this  question.  More  can  be  done 
through  a  study  of  industrial  hygiene  than  in  any  other 
way.” 

Professor  Freund  then  offered  the  following  resolution  : 

The  fundamental  purpose  of  labor  legislation  is  the  con¬ 
servation  of  the  human  resources  of  the  nation.  The  phy¬ 
sique,  vigor  and  wide-awake  intelligence  of  the  future  wage¬ 
earning  population  is  of  greater  importance  than  the  conser¬ 
vation  of  our  natural  resources.  Wise  legislation  on  either 
subject  cannot  be  enacted  unless  it  is  based  on  thorough, 
scientific  investigation.  Such  investigation  is  imperative 
also  as  an  aid  to  the  courts  in  determining  the  constitution¬ 
ality  of  labor  laws  brought  before  them.  The  decisions  of 
the  courts  show  clearly  that  they  rely  upon  the  science  of 
industrial  hygiene  in  marking  out  the  limits  of  the  police 
power.  As  long  as  this  branch  of  science  remains  undevel¬ 
oped,  the  legislatures  and  the  courts  can  rely  only  on  uncer- 

11 


tain  opinions  and  common  knowledge.  This  is  not  enough 
to  support  legislation  regulating  the  hours  and  conditions  of 
labor.  Employers  and  workmen  also  are  seeking  more  exact 
knowledge  in  order  that  they  may  improve  the  health,- vigor 
and  efficiency  of  labor.  The  more  exact  and  scientific  the 
knowledge  on  this  subject  the  more  can  be  expected  from 
the  voluntary  co-operation  of  employers  and  workmen  with¬ 
out  resort  to  legislation.  In  view  of  its  fundamental  impor¬ 
tance  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation  joins 
with  the  International  Association  in  urging  upon  all  medical 
bodies  and  colleges,  all  bureaus  of  labor,  boards  of  health, 
all  philanthropic  and  charitable  agencies  and  endowments, 
to  take  up  and  carry  out  the  scientific  investigation  of  in¬ 
dustrial  hygiene.  Only  in  this  way  can  the  human  resources 
of  the  country  be  conserved,  just  as  agricultural  and  engi¬ 
neering  science  have  been  brought  to  the  conservation  of 
natural  resources. 


“Now,  just  one  word  on  the  legal  importance  of  this,” 
said  Professor  Freund.  “The  courts  should  have  before  them 
well-worked  out  schedules  showing  what  and  where  protec¬ 
tion  is  needed.  ...  A  measure  that  is  general  is  apt  to 
be  unreasonable;  a  measure  that  is  not  general  is  apt  to  be 
class  legislation.  ...  A  thorough  investigation  of  in¬ 
dustrial  hygiene  would  revolutionize  the  attitude  of  our 
courts  with  reference  to  labor  legislation.” 

Coulter  :  “We  in  Minnesota  are  going  to  work  on  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  Workingmen’s  Insurance.” 

Ely:  “This  resolution  would  not  interfere.” 

Farnam  :  “This  furnishes  the  best  opportunity  to  get  in¬ 
vestigation.  Hygiene  is  at  the  basis  of  all  of  it.  It  touches 
questions  of  hours,  age,  etc.  Industrial  hygiene  is  funda¬ 
mental  and  practicable.  This  resolution  would  be  an  ex¬ 
pression  of  opinion,  but  other  subjects  would  not  be  neg¬ 
lected.” 

Mrs.  Robins:  “Accidents  are  closely  associated  with  long 
hours.” 


1 1  ■ 


Webster:  “An  investigation  of  industrial  hygiene  will 
furnish  the  basis  for  attack.  We  must  have  this  basis  first, 
before  Insurance  Companies  would  take  up  the  question  of 
compensation.  ” 

Freund:  “Industrial  Hygiene  and  accidents  differ;  we 
know  about  accidents,  and  the  question  is  as  between  differ- 

12 


ent  methods  of  legislation.  But  we  know  too  little  about 
Industrial  Hygiene  to  have  even  a  basis  for  legislation.” 

The  question  was  then  put  and  the  resolution  was  adopted 
unanimously. 

Adjourned  at  5  :25  P.  M. 

At  six  o’clock  about  100  members,  as  guests  of  the  Illinois 
State  Branch,  sat  down  to  dinner  in  the  Club  dining  room. 
Unusual  opportunities  for  social  intercourse  were  given  to 
visiting  members,  who  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  several 
distinguished  representatives  of  the  Illinois  Branch. 

The  evening  was  given  over  to  a  public  meeting  with  short 
addresses  by  Professor  Farnam,  Dr.  Andrews,  Deputy  Labor 
Commissioner  Lorenz  of  Wisconsin,  and  Professor  Commons. 
The  discussion  was  led  by  Miss  Jane  Addams,  and  continued 
by  Mr.  Webster,  and  Edwin  JR,.  Wright,  president  of  the  Illi¬ 
nois  State  Federation  of  Labor.  Among  those  present  were 
Judge  Julian  Mack,  Louis  Post,  editor  of  The  Public,  Luke 
Grant,  secretary  of  the  Illinois  State  Branch,  Dr.  Alice 
Hamilton,  William  Hard,  Bertha  Poole  Weyl,  Dr.  David 
Blau  stein,  Professor  C.  Edward  Merriam,  Agnes  Nestor,  Sec¬ 
retary  Nockles  of  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor,  and 
Attorney  Frederick  N.  Judson,  of  St.  Louis. 

The  Conference  was  in  many  respects  the  most  successful 
in  the  history  of  the  organization. 

JOHN  B.  ANDREWS, 

Executive  Secretary,  American  Section  of  the 
International  Association  for  Labor  Legislation. 

A La dison ,  Wisconsin , 

April  1909. 


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